


In a Land of Magic

by merthurkdramas_101



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Pendragon Has Magic (Merlin), F/F, F/M, M/M, Ygraine and Gaius harbor Merlin, Ygraine knows Arthur has magic, Ygraine should've been alive, and Merthur should've bonded over magic, and they ship Merthur so hard, basically what should've happened, because Arthur should've had magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:55:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurkdramas_101/pseuds/merthurkdramas_101
Summary: In a land of magic and a time of confusion, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a powerful idiot and his noble prat. Their names: Merlin and Arthur.
Relationships: Balinor/Hunith (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Ygraine de Bois/Uther Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 277





	In a Land of Magic

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! i can't believe it's already 2020. O_O
> 
> It's been a while! Lots of things have changed--my writing being one of them. My motivation has also shifted, so that's why it's been some time! But most importantly, I have grown into an adult and have a job, and all my free time is spent sleeping lolollll (not really, but you get the gist :p). but that's beside the point.
> 
> I've come up with a few nice ideas for Merthur, and so far, this is the one I was actually sort of proud of. I hope y'all like it. It's my first chapter by chapter update, so I can't promise any consistent updates right now, but I will do my best to post a new chapter every two weeks! I gotta form a schedule now :D
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy my indulgence of having an alive Ygraine and a magical Arthur. She's been really fun to write, so far, and I can't wait to write about magical Merthur shenanigans. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!

_Before we begin the tale of Merlin and Arthur, we must start, as all stories do, with the backstory. (Hence, the prologue.)_

****

Ygraine grasps her arm and winces a bit while she makes her way back to the castle. The babbling man next to her isn’t helping at all.

“Sure, the _dress_ is the thing you’re worried about when there’s a _dragon_ that almost burned you to a bloody crisp.”

Ygraine lifts her eyes up slowly, and her eyebrows follow as she looks Balinor up and down.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in charge of making sure they don’t shoot fire at will? I thought that’s what you were off doing for two years. Or was I wrong?”

There was a flush of red behind Balinor’s beard as he looked over his shoulder at the dragon, who was now curled in a ball on a haystack. From this far away, he looked like one of the hay-stuffed animals the maids had made for Ygraine when they found out she was pregnant again.

“He’s been feeling restless,” he mumbled. “But you know better than to set him off, Ygraine. Kilgarrah is older and he has a more refined and polished sense of respect since he’s at least three centuries old. You may be the queen, but he’s been king of the dragon realm for years, and—”

She rolls her eyes at his lecture, one that she’s heard multiple times before, and clutches her arm to her chest.

Balinor and her had been friends since they were twenty-one. He came to Camelot to train to be a Dragonlord after his father had passed. He was brilliant; the smartest and kindest Dragonlord that has yet to be seen according to Gaius; but his temper, brooding, and babbling put up a wall most people weren’t patient enough to get through.

Ygraine had been married to Uther for about three years when she met Balinor met, and though she loved Uther dearly, he wasn’t much for playful banter. He tended to be very serious. (In bed, however, it’s a completely different story. Ahem.)

So when she’d finished her queenly duties, she’d set off to watch the dragons fly. They were fearsome creatures, but they were always grand and poised and looked so elegant from when they took off to when they landed. Their scales shone like falling stars whenever they crossed her vision, and she was in awe of such magnificent beasts. And she was envious of those with magic, as they shared a connection to these creatures.

There was one dragon in particular she loved to see, however. Whenever she went over the hill to the dragon sanctuary, most dragons wouldn’t give her a second glance. But this older dragon who looked at least a century old would always stare at her right in the eyes. There were times Ygraine swore she saw scenes of the past in those eyes of his. They were filled with so much pain and wisdom and mystery that it kept her staring hours at a time. Usually, though, until he closed his eyes.

One day, she went to see this dragon and she came across a stocky man with a thick beard and hard eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I’ve come to see this dragon. You could say we’re friends.”

He scoffed. “Kilgarrah doesn’t have _friends_. He’s an old dragon who doesn’t have taste for human relationships. He thinks humans are vile and disrespectful.”

“What does it say, then, that his keeper is even more so?”

The dragon huffed, and Ygraine stared at him in surprise.

“Can he understand me?” she asked, eyes never leaving Kilgarrah.

“What do you care?”

Her eyes shot to the man and saw the remnants of a blush receding from his face.

“Well for one, as I said, we are friends. I know because I’ve come here more than once and we share our souls with each other. Second, it would be great to know if he could understand me so I could talk with him. And third, well, I think I’ll save that for a later moment.”

The man laughed. “Share your souls? You must be mad, woman. You should leave before I tell him to throw flames at you.”

Ygraine laughed. “The moment came earlier than I expected, but I’m glad for it. I like you.”

The man’s eyes grew wider. “Gods, you are mental.”

“I am Queen Ygraine, actually. And it has been an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir. I’ll be back tomorrow to see you again, and I’ll ask for your name. For your sake, I hope you’re better prepared.”

She laughed all the way back home, replaying the moment the man’s mouth dropped and face grew purple.

Balinor, she found, was not prepared the next day either. He never stopped babbling, and the blush never left his face. So she continued to see him until the blush left and his eyes grew open, and slowly, she saw his soul too.

***

As soon as Balinor threw the physician’s door open, Ygraine went off.

“Gaius, look what Bali did to me.”

“I told you not to call me that, you—”

“He burned my arm and it hurts _soo_ badly. I think it might fall off.”

“You—I didn’t do anything, Gaius. And she’s clearly overreacting. You know how she gets.”

“That is not true at all. You’re just a hard-ass with no sense of propriety when it comes to royals.”

“I’ll show you propriety you little shi—oh.”

The crash of glass against the floor brings Ygraine’s attention to a woman hiding behind a cabinet with vials, eyes as wide as a deer’s and face gone pale.

“Oh, my dear. I apologize. I didn’t expect someone else to be here. Where has Gaius gone?”

“He—he went out to gather some herbs,” she whispered. She looked terrified.

“What are you doing here, love?”

“I-I’m—”

“Come closer, love. I can’t hear you.”

The woman stepped around the cabinet, her eyes fixed on the ground, as she made her way over.

“What’s your name?” Ygraine asked.

“Hunith, my lady.”

“Hunith. That’s a lovely name. What do you do here?”

“Gaius has taken me on as an apprentice. He’s still teaching me.”

Ygraine raised one of her eyebrows. “Teaching you? How long have you been here? He hasn’t informed me that he was keeping an apprentice.”

“I apologize, Your Highness. He’s been meaning to see you about me, but the sweating sickness has been spreading quickly since we’ve been back.”

Ygraine lets the woman clean up her mess as she thinks back. She remembers Gaius leaving to heal a village after claiming he couldn’t teach a woman his life’s work in a night. And she recalls now that he was going to bring the woman back to Camelot after he healed the village to teach her medicine.

“Ah, now I remember! Gaius went with you to heal your village! How are they all?”

Another vial shatters on the floor, and Ygraine looks up from it to find the woman staring down at it, helpless.

“Ygraine, maybe use your sweet, quiet, and queenly voice while we’re inside,” Balinor says.

“Shut up,” she mutters to him as she elbows him in the ribs. “I apologize. My friend here has made me rather louder than normal,” she says to Hunith.

She elbows Balinor again when he starts to protest.

“Why don’t you sit down and tell us about yourself?”

So Hunith tells them of the ailment that struck her town in Essetier and how she came to Camelot to help, as her King did not give a second thought to a town that was so rural. Gaius offered to come and help, but by the time they got back, everyone who had not already passed on migrated to another town. With no place to come back to, Gaius offered her an apprenticeship in Camelot to learn healing. And with every word she speaks, Hunith’s confidence comes back. It seems that bursting into a room and shouting about how a man hurt her isn’t the best first impression Ygraine could’ve given.

“Well that’s wonderful,” she says with a small smile. She grabs Hunith’s hand and places it in her lap. “I am truly sorry about your town, Hunith. But I hope you can make a new home here in Camelot. You’ll find that it’s not without its charms.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Hunith says with a gentle smile. Her eyes were shining with an honesty and openness Ygraine has rarely seen in people. Save for one person she knows. She smirks as she squeezes Hunith’s hand and stands up, thinking about the man behind her.

“Now, none of that. I have a feeling we’ll be good friends. Please call me Ygraine.”

Hunith smiles and stands up, and Ygraine smiles at the blush on her cheeks. “Well, then. It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Ygraine.”

Ygraine pats Hunith’s hand. “Now, has that old goat taught you anything useful? Or has he bored you with technicalities?”

“Seeing as I don’t know the first thing about healing or medicine, I’m pleased he’s gone over the technicalities till I’m blue in the face.”

Ygraine laughs. “Has he taught you anything about burn remedies?” she says as she holds out her arm. She snickers at how wide her eyes get.

“How did you get a burn so large? I assume you don’t go in the kitchens.”

“A friend of mine has a rather troublesome dragon,” she says with a chuckle. And her smile grows wider as she watches Hunith’s eyes twinkle.

“He’s not the troublesome one here,” Balinor mutters under his breath. He shields his stomach before Ygraine can elbow him again.

“Dragons,” Hunith says, almost breathless. “I’ve—I’ve never seen a dragon before.”

“They’re,” Balinor starts. He clears his throat. “They’re pretty magnificent creatures. The oldest one is almost three and a half centuries old.”

“Centuries? Oh my, that’s longer than I expected they lived!” Hunith says.

Ygraine manages to cover up her laugh when Balinor blatantly puffs out his chest and his eyes start to sparkle as he tells Hunith the dragon basics. And Ygraine is happy to look on and smile at their antics until her burn really does start to bother her.

“If you two don’t mind, I would love to actually get some treatment for my arm, seeing as I have been burned by a dragon.”

Hunith and Balinor jump apart, but only Balinor blushes as Hunith searches the benches for a remedy.

“I only know the fundamentals. Aloe should be soothing for your burn, and I have some already grinded. It’s just in that vial, right there. Yes. Gaius keeps some comfrey and lavender here somewhere—”

And she’s off behind a shelf, rummaging for herbs. It’s about thirty seconds later when Ygraine hears another vial shatter, and she shakes her head fondly. She turns to Balinor to say something about Hunith’s clumsiness, but she finds him in a trance, staring at Hunith with eyes as misted over as the morning fogs.

Ygraine sighs deeply, because she definitely knows how this is going to play out in the long run.

When her burn is treated and Ygraine is out the door, she looks behind to see Balinor lingering.

She hears Hunith ask softly, “May I help you with something, my lord?” smiling at the ground, pink in the face.

“I. Um. Uh…”

“Don’t worry about Balinor, Hunith,” she screams from the hallway. “He has a mental affliction. Gaius has been looking for a cure for ages, but he hasn’t managed to find one. Has he trained you for that yet?”

Ygraine chuckles at Hunith’s smothered laugh, a laugh that grows louder as Balinor splutters and leaves the room, trying and failing to elbow Ygraine in the ribs.

****

It turns out that Hunith is braver than she lets on, because it’s only two months after pink faces and shy fingers that Ygraine sees Hunith grabbing Balinor’s face in his hands and kissing him. She laughs into her fist as she turns around and makes her way to her chambers, vowing to corner Hunith later and ask her to tell her everything.

“I told you I had an inkling about them,” she says to her stomach, growing bigger every day.

And at that moment, it was as if someone threw a dagger at her stomach. She was on the floor, and the last thing she remembers is seeing Hunith and Balinor’s faces, their eyes filled with worry and fear and love without bounds.

Then, it’s black.

****

It was her second miscarriage. Uther tried to be as stoic as ever, but Ygraine could tell it was taking a toll on him. So, she made herself scarce as he took on more patrols and held more meetings. Hunith helped the most of everyone. She never questioned anything; she never gave unasked for advice. Yet, she was still considerate and kind to Ygraine, in a way that felt like she was never given special treatment. So she asked about it one day.

“Why do you treat me so normally?”

Hunith stopped mixing formulas and gave Gaius a look. He rolled his eyes but grabbed his bag and stumbled to the door, mumbling.

“She can’t even be straightforward. It’s just a question. Ask instead of ordering me around with your _eyes,_ you…”

Hunith cleared her throat, but her eyes were filled with warmth and were reminiscent of a smile.

“Yes, thank you, Gaius, for understanding social cues.”

Ygraine caught a small smile on Gaius’ face as the door slammed shut.

“He’s such an old goat. He’s been worried about you, you know. He told me that the first time it happened you came to him almost every night for a month to talk about remedies that might help. That you haven’t been by till last week had him on edge.”

Ygraine fiddled with the pair of socks she’d been trying to knit for Uther. He kept complaining that his feet were cold.

“You said to call you Ygraine when I met you. That we would be friends. I felt it too. I treat you like I do any other friend I might have. If you have a problem with something, I trust that you will come to me about it. Until then, take all the time you need to get your bearings straight.”

Ygraine didn’t know she was crying until she felt a rough hand hold her cheek. When she looked up, Hunith was crying too, but her eyes were strong and smile unwavering.

“You try so hard to not be affected, even though you are. You do not need to be strong in front of friends. You should not need to be strong in front of your husband.”

Ygraine let out a sob. “He just…he wants a child. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at me. I feel like he doesn’t love me anymore. That he sees me as a bearer of his children and nothing more.”

Hunith tucked Ygraine’s head under her chin and held her like that for a very long time. When she was done crying, Ygraine sat there and fiddled with the socks, unravelling the yarn as she talked. They talked till day became night, through dinner with Gaius watching over them fondly, and into the night as Ygraine snuggled up to her dear friend; a friend who did not say a word and held no judgements in her eyes.

****

The next few years pass on in a similar matter, with one more miscarriage. No one says anything to Ygraine this time, but Balinor, Gaius, and Hunith take her to the fields ways away from Camelot to stare at the clouds and hunt for flowers. She felt relieved in an environment that had no expectations from her, so they made it a monthly outing.

The quips and squabbles they all had with each other never stopped. Gaius rarely stopped them, only because he would also partake in them and get particularly touchy when the subject of dragons popped up. Which was frequently.

“I’m not _scared_ of them. They just hold a lot of wisdom and history in their souls and minds that I cannot begin to imagine. And they are so big, and their teeth are the size of my arm.”

Balinor falls on the grass and laughs into Hunith’s shoulder while she smacks his arm.

“Gaius, they really aren’t that bad. And I know at least Aisling’s teeth are only as large as your head,” Hunith says.

“See?! She could eat me!”

“Only if you threaten to eat her first,” Ygraine says.

As Gaius ponders this, Balinor sneaks behind Gaius and lets out a roar large enough to cause the poor man to jump to his feet and totter away a fair distance before he realizes nothing has actually happened.

He doesn’t talk to them for two days.

Uther realizes around year two that he’s being too harsh with Ygraine for not bearing her a child, and he tries to make it up by going on picnics and impromptu trips to the summer palace for fun. He doesn’t quite shirk his duties to woo his queen, but it’s a near thing until Ygraine yells at him one day.

“I understand you feel bad, Uther, but you are still the king and you have a kingdom to run! I love you, my dear, but I did not marry this man. You do not cater to anyone’s whim and you have lost your backbone because you are sorry. That makes me feel worthless, Uther. If I am more to you than a child bearer, then prove it by being a fair king and doing your duty to your people. I will always be by your side because I love you and the man that you are.”

They don’t leave their bed that night, but the next morning, Uther is back to running the kingdom. The only difference is that he makes the effort to go for a ride in the evenings with Ygraine and to spend every meal together with her.

It’s the fifth year after she’s built her family that Ygraine feels a hole in her life and she asks Nimueh to help her bear a child. Uther is hesitant, citing the uncertainty of magic, but Nimueh has been Court Sorcerer since Uther’s father reigned, and Hunith trusts her wholly.

And then, she’s eight months pregnant.

****

“It is the destiny of Merlin and Arthur to unite Albion and spread magic throughout the lands,” Kilgarrah tells her one day.

Ygraine raises her eyebrows. “Are you stupid, you old dragon? Camelot has welcomed magic since her birth. What makes you think—”

“Silence, Pendragon. You do not know the ancient powers I have reckoned with. Heed my words: magic will lose its place in this kingdom sooner than you know. Arthur and Merlin will restore magic its rightful place in the world.”

Ygraine glances over at Balinor, who looks at her sheepishly, oblivious to what was being shared. She was wary—no one knew the names she picked for her child. Serafina, if she had a girl. But apparently, she was to have a boy and his name, like she picked, would be Arthur.

“Thank you, Kilgarrah, for opening your mind to mine so I could speak with you. It was nice to hear your voice. I will take your words and keep them close to me.”

“You are a wise woman, Ygraine. I enjoy our time as friends.”

She smiles brightly at the dragon, and she can feel his voice fading as the connection dissolves between them. She turns to Balinor and smiles at him too, and he shakes his head fondly at her.

“I’ve never seen someone so enraptured by the cryptic old messages Kilgarrah has to share,” Balinor says.

“You seem to take advantage of the fact that you can speak to dragons through your _conscious_. That was the most bewildering experience I’ve ever had,” Ygraine says. She waves at Hunith coming towards them from the stables. “But you do admit that he is cryptic and ridiculous, so I suppose that relieves a little bit of my worry.”

“What was it he told you?” he asks.

“That you’re a fool.”

Hunith laughs with her head thrown back while Balinor rolls his eyes and sighs. He sticks out his tongue at Ygraine, and Ygraine smiles back.

“I’ll have to have a word with that old crone.”

“Careful Bali, he might fry you.”

He cringes at the nickname while Hunith and Ygraine link arms, laughing as they head back to the castle for preparations, leaving Balinor with his dragons. Arthur should be here any day now.

“He hates you a little more every time you say that.”

Ygraine rolls her eyes. “I’m sure. I’m also certain he kisses you on the mouth every time you say it.”

Hunith’s blush gives her away, and Ygraine chuckles. “I should be commended on breaking that stiff man for you, Hunith. Without me, he’d still be as serious as ever. Might have even been worse than Uther is.”

Hunith brings her free hand to her mouth to smother her laughter. “Uther would have you in the stocks.”

Ygraine remembers That One Night and says, “Mmm. Yes, he would.”

Hunith turns beet red and pulls her arm out from Ygraine’s. “Ygraine! You didn’t!”

Ygraine turns a little pink as she says, “Well, he is the king! That has to amount to something.”

“In the stocks?! In public?!”

“Good God, Hunith, Uther cleared the square! Honestly. Like I said, being king has to amount to something.”

“I thought I knew you, my lady.”

Ygraine smirks and lightly pushes Hunith to walk in front of her.

“Oh, my dear, you still have a long way to go.”

********

Ygraine is counting down the days till Arthur comes. She’s already four days overdue, and today marks the fifth. She’s starting to worry, though only Balinor, Gaius, and Hunith can tell.

Balinor tries to calm her down by bickering more than usual, which helps a bit. They’re bickering one day in the throne room, waiting for the king so Balinor can give his report.

“You’re such a baby, Ygraine.”

“And you’re still a hard-ass, Balinor. God, I wonder how Hunith deals with you.”

“With grace and love, my friend. Something you would never understand.”

“No, why would _I_ , a _queen_ , understand anything about grace?”

“You’re as graceful as a goose.”

“Tell that to Hunith. She spills vials even to this day, bless her.”

“Hey, don’t bad mouth—”

“Oh, I’m not bad mouthing her, you hard-headed donkey.”

“I am _not—_ ”

“Ahem.” They’re interrupted by Uther striding into the throne room.

“Sire,” Balinor says, bowing.

“Sprightly as ever, you both are,” Uther says. He leans in to Ygraine for a kiss that lasts quite a few seconds longer than necessary. Balinor coughs.

“Yes, what news do you have, Balinor?”

“There are reports of a centaur that has been possessed by dark magic raiding outlying villages in Cenred’s kingdom. A group of villagers from a town called Ealdor had made an appeal to me about aid. I’ve contacted Cenred and he couldn’t care less about the outlying regions and gave me permission to do what I can for them. They are still wary of magic in his Kingdom, so he has not the means to take care of this situation. I request to bring some knights for combat, Gaius and Hunith for treatments of wounds, and Nimueh for comfort and a wise word.”

“Hmm. I can see their wariness of magic. How a practice can be so corrupt is beyond me. Take the knights and the physicians but leave Nimueh. Ygraine is due any day now. Besides,” Uther says as he pulls Ygraine in by her waist. “you are, after all, seemingly charming enough. Especially with women.” He pulls her in even closer as Balinor’s jaw drops.

Ygraine and Balinor fall into a coughing fit that has Uther rolling his eyes but pulling Ygraine in closer with every breath. Only when Balinor excuses himself does Ygraine let out a full-fledged laugh into her lover’s shoulder.

“He’s always bickering with you. I can’t even get you to smile.”

“You’re overthinking things, Uther. You make me smile every day over things you can’t even imagine. It’s you I love, my dear. He’s like a brother to me.”

Uther frowns and looks disgruntled. So she takes his hand and places it on her belly and covers his hand with her own. He looks at her stomach, then up at her eyes, and they share a laugh before they share a kiss.

***

It’s two days later when the castle hallways are filled with echoes of screams and curses.

“Is it normal to yell this much?” Uther asks.

“It’s perfectly normal. The woman is in intense pain as she is passing another human through her vagi—”

“Yes, Gaius, thank you. How long will this take?”

“The average time it takes for a woman in labor is about eight to nine hours, but it varies depending on—”

“Eight to nine hours?! I can’t take this for much longer, Gaius!”

“My lord, it will only stress you out further if you keep pacing.”

“I’m the king, Gaius, I can do whatever I like.”

“Of course, sire.”

Uther sits, though, at hour three.

By hour nine, the screams have gotten considerably louder and Uther paler, and Gaius on his last thread of patience.

When the nurse comes into the hallway, Uther is up in a second and follows the nurse into his room without question, acting like he didn’t spend the last nine and a half hours asking Gaius the same five questions over again.

When they see Ygraine, she’s a mess. Her hair is spread across the pillow like a fan, and her face is paler than Uther’s when he begins to realize there is something wrong the longer he looks at her. Nimueh is between Ygraine’s legs, trying to help the baby out.

“Ygraine? Are you all right? What’s happened? Gaius?”

“Sire, she seems to be having trouble pushing the baby out. Her body cannot take much more, and the baby will suffocate if we cannot bring its head out first.”

Uther grabs the back of Nimueh’s dress and faces her to him.

“This is your fault, isn’t it? You did this!”

“Uther, please, I need to—”

“You promised she would be all right!”

“I never promised anything, Uther! I promised you a child. A body has its limits, and this seemed to be Ygraine’s. Don’t fault me for nature taking its course.”

“How dare you! Ygraine is the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She can hold on longer. You know, people warned me not to consult magic. It’s always unpredictable and can cause destruction if a person so wishes. But Ygraine trusted you, so I allowed it. You betrayed me and Ygraine.”

“Uther, no. You’re wrong.”

He glares at her. “If you don’t fix this, Nimueh, you will know the wrath I can inflict on you and your kind.”

Nimueh takes a steadying breath and makes her way to Ygraine. She calls upon the powers of the High Priestesses, then she pulses her magic into Ygraine with the intention of healing and mending, and by the end of the spell, she falls to the ground, spent.

The baby is flipped with the last bouts of magic surrounding him, and it comes out crying, straight into Gaius’s arms.

“Congratulations, Uther. It’s a boy.”

***

Ygraine is in bed for two weeks after, and Nimueh is at her side every day, pulsating her magic into Ygraine’s body to heal her. After the first week, Ygraine wakes and demands to see her son. The nurse brings him in, and Ygraine sobs softly, hugging him to her chest.

“Arthur. My sweet Arthur. I love you, my son.”

She hands him back to the nurse, then falls asleep again. By the end of the second week, she can sit up in bed and hold Arthur for hours on end. It’s then Nimueh is called into the throne room.

She shuffles her way into the room with a walking stick, as her magic is still recuperating from being used so heavily and frequently. She smiles as she makes her way to Uther, who is laughing and cooing with his son.

When he sees her, he gives Arthur back to the nurse and turns back to the table to review documents.

“How is Ygraine?” he asks, eyes unmoving on the parchment in front of him.

“She’s a lot better. She managed to hold Arthur for most of the day yesterday. She’s resting now. I gave her the dose of magic for today, but that should be the last one she needs.”

“Good. Your services are no longer required, Nimueh.”

Nimueh blinks. “I—I assumed so since she’s all well. I can return to state matters in about a week’s ti—”

“You are no longer needed as Court Sorcerer.”

“Uther, I don’t—”

He whips his head up. “You have lost the right to call me that the moment Ygraine’s life was in danger.”

“Uth—my Lord. There must be some mistake. I’ve been magically healing her highness since her labor, and Prince Arthur is in perfect health.”

“No thanks to you. I no longer trust you. You lied to me and put my wife—the queen—in grave danger.”

“Uther, please! I—”

“Guards! Take her away. You have until sundown to leave and never return.”

“No, Uther! Please, have mercy!”

The doors slamming and her chorus of screams and pleas don’t leave his mind, even after sunset. He asks a guard whether she was still in the castle.

“She vanished as soon as we led her out of these chambers, my Lord. The last of her belongings have been removed as of two hours ago.”

“How bothersome. Get me Gaius and ask him how he can get this echoing to stop.”

“Echoing, my Lord?”

Uther’s eyes gravitate to the door where he swears he sees cobalt blue eyes staring back at him.

It’s then the echoing stops.

***

“She’s been in there longer and longer every day since Nimueh was banished. What do you think they’re talking about in there?” Hunith asks Balinor. She smiles when Arthur tries to respond instead with his incoherent babbling.

“You were worth every bit of it, Prince Arthur. I’m sure of it,” she says.

Balinor can’t take his eyes away from the sight: Hunith’s black hair falling out of her messy bun, draping a curtain on the scene of Arthur shaking Hunith’s finger before he leads it to his mouth. Her smile grows wider and eyes get deeper with love as she watches over this babe, and Balinor wonders what it would be like if Hunith were looking at her own child. _Their_ child. He lets out a deep sigh, full of love and envy, missing this one thing from his otherwise perfect life. His eyes travel to Hunith’s face, only to find her looking back at him. She winks at him before she kicks his leg.

“Ow! What on earth was that for?” Balinor asks.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?”

“Gods above, how did I end up with a man who doesn’t—”

“I want a child, Hunith. I want _your_ child…our child. A child. I want us to grow as a family. I want—”

The atmosphere in the room intensifies as Arthur’s cooing slowly increases to a whine when his friends don’t reply to his attempts at conversation, completely oblivious to the kisses and moans and promises that are filling the room.

It all falls away when the door bursts open to a frantic looking Ygraine and a harried Gaius right behind her.

Hunith is up in an instant, cradling Ygraine’s face in her hands. But Ygraine pushes her hands away and runs straight into Balinor’s arms. He wraps his arms around her on instinct.

“What’s happened?” he asks, patting her head.

“Uther’s gone mad. He’s ordered an investigation of all magic users to test their loyalty to the crown. He’s already called in the sorcerers from the outlying regions, and let me tell you, they are much less alive than when they walked in,” Ygraine says. She finds Hunith’s eyes and the fear she finds there matches her own.

“You need to leave, Balinor. You and Hunith need to leave before it gets out of hand,” Ygraine says as she squeezes even tighter.

“Ygraine, I—Hunith should at least stay here with you. You can’t—”

“If you think you’re leaving me here after what you just told me, I might bring you to Uther myself,” Hunith says.

Ygraine laughs as she pushes away from Balinor to pick up Arthur, and she looks at her dear friends as they bicker. As they exchange words, they pack books they might need, clothes, parchment, quills, blankets, and two bottles of ink. Gaius is rummaging around for food they can take. Balinor stops packing when he sees that Gaius is only struggling with finding food.

“Are you only going to focus on meals, old man? You need your medicine and robes because you get cold at night. You should start packing your clothes too.”

When Gaius and Ygraine bow their heads, he knows Gaius isn’t coming.

“Gaius. Answer me,” he says.

“I—” Gaius gulps, takes a breath, and stands as tall as he can while he faces this man as a subject, not his friend. It does not last.

“I have pledged my loyalty to the king. I am too old to be traveling so far, I would only hold you back. I also need to be here for—”

“You would betray us? In favor of that tyrant?” The broken voice that falls out of Balinor breaks Ygraine’s heart in two.

“After everything we’ve been through, Gaius, how could you?!” Balinor storms up to Gaius and moves to slap him, but Hunith holds back his hand and pulls his face into her hands and holds it tight.

“Balinor, I know this is a trying time. I cannot fathom the pain you are feeling, my love. But you must not blame Gaius and Ygraine for this. They are helping us because we are friends and because they love us. They wouldn’t betray us. Imagine how they must feel, that their friends have to leave the sanctuary of their home and they cannot do anything but help us flee. You must be understanding, Balinor. I’m sure this comes with some consequence to our friends.”

Balinor looks ashamed with himself and is hesitant when Hunith turns him around to face the old goat.

“I would change everything in a heartbeat if I had the power, my boy. You both made my days much more bearable here. I do not know how I will be without you both. Ygraine will annoy me to no end, I’m sure of it.”

Gaius and Balinor share a laugh, and then move towards each other to embrace. Hunith and Ygraine roll their tear-filled eyes and fall into an embrace as well.

“You are my dearest friend, Hunith. I will never find the words for how much you have done for me. Thank you.”

“My lady, you’re going to make Balinor jealous,” Hunith says softly, tears soaking into Ygraine’s dress.

Hunith and Ygraine separate, as do Gaius and Balinor, when the door swings open. A guard enters and says, “Lord Balinor, the King requests your presence.”

Balinor straightens up and grabs Hunith’s hand. “I will be there shortly.”

The guard bows and heads down the hallway, but he stops short of actually leaving—Balinor is being escorted, which means he will be coming back, at least.

“Hunith, pack up the rest of the things. I should be no more than one hour. We’ll leave when I come back.”

“Hurry back, my love.”

They share a kiss, and then he leaves.

****

It’s been almost two hours by the time Hunith gets ready to leave to find him. Ygraine had been holding her back since the one-hour mark, not wanting Hunith to get into unnecessary trouble.

“He will be back, my dear. He wouldn’t dare leave without you,” Ygraine says.

“What if he’s in the dungeons? Or in the stocks? Or on the chopping block? Ygraine, I must go and see where he is, I can’t let this—”

The door bangs open just then, and Balinor charges straight into Hunith’s arms.

“He locked up Kilgarrah in the caves. He wanted peace. He said he wanted peace, but then he—” Balinor says.

The rest of it is lost in sobs, and Gaius grabs Ygraine’s arm before she charges out and locks Uther in the dungeons herself.

“Ygraine. Please, just…” Hunith stops as she strokes Balinor’s head and looks at Arthur, who’s sleeping peacefully on the bench.

“Please, help us out of here. I don’t think we can stay here much longer.”

“Balinor, I’m so sorry,” Ygraine cries and runs towards the huddled couple. Gaius joins them, and they all hug. Ygraine nuzzles her face into Hunith’s unoccupied shoulder, and she can hear Balinor mutter something under his breath. She almost looks up at him, when she sees Arthur’s right side glow. She finds a bracelet there once the golden hue leaves him, and she looks up to Balinor as they share a look.

“It’ll grow with him,” he says.

Then it’s Gaius’ turn. He mutters a spell, and all four of them are surrounded by a golden hue of their own, and Ygraine looks at her right forearm when it starts to tickle. There, a single wildflower is being imprinted on her skin. She smiles as she recalls that lovely day, and she smiles.

“May this bond never be broken,” Gaius says, “and may this love and friendship stay true. No matter the distance. Until we meet again.”

They break apart then, give each other a look, and then Hunith and Balinor finish the last of their packing.

And all the while, Ygraine takes Arthur into her arms and sways with him, thinking of Kilgarrah and the words he shared with her not even a month ago. She had an inkling.

It’s well beyond midnight when they’re all outside the gate. Rain and tears are mixed together, words are exchanged, and hugs and kisses are given all around. Well wishes are shared, feelings are acknowledged, and so are apologies.

The moon that was hanging in the black sky shared its light, it seemed, on this one corner of the kingdom, as if to acknowledge the magic that happened here, and the magic that would happen again. Somehow, Ygraine knew she’d never see Balinor again, but she held out hope that she would see Hunith. She longed for just that as she watched the horses gallop into the forest, and she sent along her wish with the wind that followed them.

_Call him Merlin._

****

That night, Ygraine dreams of the day when Gaius, Hunith, Balinor, and she shirked their duties for a day and took a trip to the fields right outside the palace to hunt for flowers. They search and joked and shared secrets for three hours before they realized they hadn’t found any flowers yet.

Hunith gave Balinor an admonishing look, and his blush gave his magic away. Not long after, the spell faded and the field was covered in wildflowers. Reds, blues, pinks, purples, and yellows blended together, and the afternoon sun and spring breeze rushed through the four of them, and in that moment, Ygraine felt what it was like to have magic. She laughed as the flowers popped up one by one, and she frolicked like a little girl. It was as if with every step she took, flowers would blossom behind her. She grabbed Hunith’s hand and they ran across the field chasing butterflies and dandelion seeds. She looked back at Gaius scolding Balinor about using his magic to keep everyone distracted, but he was barely listening. He met her eyes and he winked at her, and she knew in that moment that he did it for her, so she could witness magic and it’s grand and beautiful power.

They lay in the field afterwards, staring at the clouds, not saying a word.

“I’ve never been as happy as I am right now,” Hunith said.

Ygraine could hear the grass move as Gaius and Balinor nodded their heads, and she let out a content sigh when they did.

She raised herself on her elbows and brought her hand to her stomach, three months pregnant with Arthur, as she watched the wildflowers billow in the wind.

She smiled. “Neither have I.”

**Author's Note:**

> I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS!!! Comments and likes are more than welcome, and please let me know if you have any feedback and/or edits from things I missed (which i hope isn't much since I'm a copyeditor...)
> 
> I'm working hard on Chapter 1! I hope y'all can be patient with me as I try and find a working schedule!
> 
> Love you lots, and I missed this site so much, really <3 I hope y'all are doing well :D


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